Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus
by mykindofparty
Summary: PREQUEL TO MUGGLE STUDIES. Brittany S. Pierce is a spunky Muggle-born. Santana Lopez is a trash-talking Pureblood. They become the unlikeliest of friends. A Harry Potter/Glee crossover. Eventual Brittana.
1. Chapter 1

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus  
>By: Mykindofparty<br>Summary: PREQUEL TO MUGGLE STUDIES. Brittany S. Pierce is a spunky Muggle-born with an affinity for cats and useless trivia. Santana Lopez is a trash-talking Pureblood with a knack for getting into trouble. They become the unlikeliest of friends. A Harry Potter/Glee crossover. Eventual Brittana.  
>Spoilers: A teeny, tiny <em>Deathly Hallows<em> one. But just barely.  
>AN: Part 1. Begins in Year Four. While this is the prequel, it is not necessary to read _Muggle Studies _to understand what's going on. The title comes from Hogwarts' motto, which translates into "Let Sleeping Dragons Lie," or "Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon."

* * *

><p>"Hey Pierce, what's the matter? You lost?" Dave Karofsky taunted. This was a common occurrence- not getting lost, per say, but the merciless teasing. Brittany avoided him at all costs; however, when a staircase had shifted, leaving her stranded in an unfamiliar hallway, she panicked. It never ceased to amaze her at how intricate Hogwarts truly was and she suspected that she was somewhere near the Slytherin dormitories – uncharted territory on her part. And he so happened to be roaming the corridor as part of his Prefect duties. Just her luck.<p>

"No, I'm quite alright. Thank you," she replied. Her parents always stressed the importance of good manners and she figured she'd kill him with kindness, so to speak. Plus he looked like he could snap her in two so she didn't want to anger him. She slipped her hand into her robe and readied her wand, in case he meant her any harm, to be on the safe side. She was always reluctant to use magic to harm another, but she wouldn't go down without a fight either. If it came down to it, she was fairly confident in her abilities- practicing dueling with Mike paid off- but hopefully Dave would let her pass with nothing more than a scathing comment or two.

"Not so fast," Dave drawled as he took a menacing step forward. "It's pretty rough around these parts. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you, _Brittany_."

_Oh please_, Brittany thought as she rolled her eyes. They were the only people in sight and she was already running late for class, no thanks to Lord Tubbington. He'd insisted on coming with her this year by refusing to get off of her suitcase when it was time for her to leave. Never again, though. He was staying in Ohio for the remainder of her Hogwarts days because he was a terrible influence on all of the owls. Headmaster Figgins still hadn't forgiven her for last month when a plethora of ashes were discovered in the post office with a sated Lord Tubbington purring happily while gnawing on a cigar. But today she was behind schedule because her cat went into diva mode and refused to eat his portion-controlled lunch.

"Did you hear me?"

Brittany was shaken from her thoughts; she too busy wondering whether Lord Tubbington was sneaking mice behind her back to listen to what else Dave had said. "Uh," she murmured, "no, I didn't quite catch that."

"I said, 'Get a move on.' Then I told you I'd see you in the common room later," he reiterated. He was strange like that; one minute he'd be threatening her, the next he'd ask for help in Charms. Brittany excelled in that class above all else, but she wasn't half bad at her other subjects. She suspected that perhaps he had the_ tiniest_ crush on her. He was fifteen after all; hormone-induced rages were not uncommon in boys his age. The love bug, it seemed, had been making its rounds throughout the entire castle. After going on a wild goose chase and consulting a few library books in the restricted section, Brittany determined it was not an actual bug, much to her disappointment. She loved magical creatures and this mythical insect intrigued her. Oh well. At least unicorns were real.

She brushed past Dave– mind now occupied with unicorns- but stopped when she felt a tingling sensation in her legs. It spread up her body; she hadn't even heard him whisper _Petrificus Totalus _and she certainly hadn't seen it coming until it was too late. She fell backwards and hit the floor painfully. Her head pounded as he laughed at the sight of her.

_"__Tarantallegra__!" _an unfamiliar voice called out. Dave's legs gave out and he fell to the ground while they squirmed uncontrollably. Brittany rolled her eyes as far as they'd go, but she couldn't see who had cast the spell. Suddenly, a girl stood over her. Brittany blinked a few times before she realized it was Santana Lopez- a Slytherin and a fellow fourth year.

"What did you do?" a woman questioned. Her voice sounded like a mermaid's voice out of water- pitchy and grating. "Miss Lopez, did you attack these two Hufflepuffs?"

"No, I-"

"Fifty points from Slytherin!" the woman clucked as she reversed both curses. In an instant, Brittany could feel her entire body again and she stretched out on the floor. Similarly, Dave readjusted his legs and took a few unsteady steps. Satisfied that she could indeed walk once more, Brittany's eyes darted to Professor Pillsbury who was chastising Santana.

"Wait!" Brittany shouted. "She- she's not the one who did this to me." She turned toward Dave and pointed her finger at him. "He is!"

"Be that as it may," Emma replied sweetly, "she still hexed him. And if you say one more word, Miss Pierce, I'll give you detention as well. These two will already be joining me on Thursday evening."

"But-" Brittany protested before Santana clapped a hand over her mouth. Emma, the Ravenclaw head of house, didn't seem to notice. The professor led Dave away, presumably taking him to the infirmary. He'd fallen against a suit of armor while trying to regain his balance and nicked his arm. It was hardly bleeding, but he was moaning as if he'd lost a limb. Pathetic.

Brittany felt an immense gratitude toward Santana, but the girl disappeared before she got a chance to thank her. From what Brittany had observed, the Slytherin was quite standoffish and tended to unleash verbal lashings on younger students. It made no sense whatsoever- why would Santana help her of all people? Puzzled, Brittany vowed to get an answer and the best way to approach Santana was to get her one on one. And the best way to do that, she figured, was to somehow get detention for Thursday evening.

She tried everything she could think of to get detention over the next few days. She went to the restroom without a lavatory pass. She jinxed Pillsbury's seat so it would collapse the moment she sat down. Nothing seemed to anger the woman and Brittany was getting frustrated. She_ wanted_ detention, but she wasn't going to look for another fight. Violence, she decided, was the last resort.

By Wednesday, she was anxious so she consulted the one person she knew who'd been detained more than anyone else at Hogwarts.

"So word on the street is that you need some help," Puck grinned as they sat in the courtyard. "Well, you came to the right guy."

"Actually I was looking for Artie," she joked which caused Puck to give her a malicious scowl. Puck and Artie were infamous for their impish ways, but Artie was at least clever enough not to get caught. The boys had found a mentor and kindred spirit in George Weasley- who missed his twin terribly even decades after his death.

Brittany remembered vividly how Puck had explained it.

"_George, he sees a lot of himself in us," Puck had said, "Of course, I'm way, way cooler and Artie isn't as upwardly mobile, but there were a few similarities. And he sends us all of the products we want at ten and a quarter percent off."_

"Brittany? Hello- Britt? Anybody home?" Puck asked with a snap of the fingers.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Brittany responded. Man, she really needed to start paying more attention. This was getting to be a problem.

Puck leaned back against a wall. Although inter-house friendships weren't uncommon, Slytherins weren't the most approachable group. But Puck was different. Puck, like Brittany, was friends with almost everyone. Or at least he'd served detention with everyone. And while he was voted _Most Likely to Serve Time in Azkaban_ at last year's end of term banquet, teachers and students alike adored him. He was charming, no doubt.

"You want detention for Thursday – and here's how you're going to do it," Puck explained, "Pillsbury and Sylvester have a standing arrangement, at Sylvester's insistence of course. I guess you could say it was non-negotiable. Any student who gets detention with either one of them winds up serving his or her punishment with Professor P. So if you can't get in trouble around her then all you need to do is piss our resident Potions Mistress off."

Angering Professor Sylvester was like sealing her own fate. Honestly Brittany wouldn't be surprised if the old bag had a dementor locked away in a dungeon somewhere to use on students. But there was no way she could turn back now. Not if she wanted to repay Santana for her kindness.

Thankfully she had double Potions later that afternoon.

"Turn to page three hundred and ninety-four," Professor Sylvester directed from her desk without giving further instruction. "Work on that."

"But Ms. Sylvester," Rachel Berry, a Gryffindor, interrupted. "You always make us try this potion."

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU KEEP FAILING AT IT," Sylvester bellowed. "IT'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE MY HAIR LUSTROUS AND THICK. OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE SCREWING SOMETHING UP."

Ah, hair. Professor Sylvester's weakness. If there was one surefire way to detention, it was to insult her hair. Brittany encountered her during one of her infamous rages one day last year and it was almost catastrophic.

"_Professor? I came by to get some help on that draught that's due next wee-" Brittany said as she entered the office, but she stopped as soon as she saw the destruction before her. The remnants of dozens of bottles of elixir lay in tatters on the floor. She took care to avoid the shards of glass as she walked over to the desk, but her teacher was nowhere to be found. Her heart raced. What if something terrible had happened? Sure, Professor Sylvester was quite lazy when it came to her teaching her class, but she was a skilled witch. It would take an army of wizards to capture Sue Sylvester._

"_What, Miss Pierce, do you think you're doing in my office?" Brittany heard behind her. "As I've told you before, you cannot smoke Gillyweed. On second thought, you can, but it won't have the effect you so desire."_

_When she turned around, it took everything in her not to laugh. Sue's head was smoking and her hair was so badly charred that it made her almost unrecognizable._

"_Find something amusing? Because I warn you, choose your words carefully," Sue demanded._

"_I – I – I was thinking… you know, maybe since you haven't had any luck with any of these brand name potions that you could brew your own… it couldn't hurt, right? I mean, surely you're a much better potion-maker than Howard Bamboo," Brittany stuttered, praying all the while that she wouldn't have to endure Sue's wrath._

"_Or," Sue said with a devious smirk, "I could have my students do it for me."_

"_That works too," Brittany agreed wholeheartedly, "but until then, maybe you should consider a hat." _

It was now or never. The lesson was drawing to a close – and although her potion looked more like lethal swamp goo than hair growth tonic, Brittany raised a timid hand and waited for Sylvester to call on her. When she did, Brittany took what she was certain to be her final breath and shouted, "Your hair looks like a centaur's ass crack!"

It was cruel but effective.

Detention sucked. At least in Muggle schools polishing trophies would be an acceptable punishment. But_ here_? It wasn't fair; Brittany knew at least half a dozen spells that would make this go a lot quicker. Then again, she couldn't exactly complain. After all, she wanted detention. But she hadn't had any opportunities to talk to the clever Slytherin who had saved her.

"You're doing a great job, Dave!" Professor Pillsbury called from across the hallway as she scrubbed an award with a toothbrush. "Brittany, you might want to use the cleaning potion I gave you. Not going to do you much good otherwise. And, uh, Santana? This is supposed to be your punishment, so please start cleaning. Your nails are immaculate already and nothing says school spirit like a shiny House Cup!"

Brittany watched as an irritated Santana rolled her eyes. The sulking girl had refused to participate and Professor Pillsbury wasn't much of an enforcer. By a stroke of luck, Professor Schuester walked by. Brittany was well aware of the crush Pillsbury harbored for the curly-headed Charms teacher. She watched as the two slipped into a classroom together. Now that her opportunity had arisen, she jumped at the chance.

"Just curious, why'd you help me?" Brittany asked Santana out of Dave's earshot. "I'm fairly certain you hate my guts."

It was true as far as she knew; the only real interaction with Santana that she could recall – other than the mishap a few days earlier – was when they met on the Hogwarts Express at eleven years old. The encounter left Brittany in tears and Santana fuming.

"Why would someone from your own house attack you?" was Santana's gruff reply. "No one deserves to be hexed behind their back. That's uncouth."

Brittany gestured towards Dave. "Oh him? Turns out you're not the only person who's had it out for me since day one."

"Great. Well now all of my buddies are giving me crap for this," Santana sneered. What Brittany didn't know was that the other Slytherins hadn't said a word. Most of them weren't aware Santana had detention tonight. Their contempt was all in Santana's head– which derived from her parents' disdain for Mudbloods. And Hufflepuffs. And almost anyone who didn't bear the name Lopez.

"Sometimes I think houses aren't nearly as important as everyone makes them out to be. You were brave enough to stand up for a girl you hardly know," Brittany said with a small smile. "But maybe we can be friends."

"It doesn't work that way. You'll always be a badger and I a serpent," Santana retorted.

"After we graduate, will it even matter? Your house doesn't define who you are, Santana. You do. The girl I saw the other day was heroic. Sure, maybe Salazar Slytherin wouldn't have saved me, but _you_ did," Brittany said.

Santana contemplated this for a second, but remained silent.

"Meet me on Saturday in the Owlery around this time," Brittany pleaded.

"Sure," Santana said uncertainly.

"Promise?" Brittany asked as she extended her pinky.

Santana didn't know what to do then, but on instinct she stuck hers out as well and Brittany linked them together. At that moment, for reasons unbeknownst to either of the two girls, they couldn't help but smile.

* * *

><p>AN 2: _Tarantallegra_, the spell that Santana casts on Dave, forces the victim's legs to dance. In _Muggle Studies_ Brittany refers to this incident as the jelly-legs jinx, but I discovered that there is no known incantation for that so I made due. I take my HP lexicon seriously, though, so I wanted to clear up any possible confusion.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus  
>By: Mykindofparty<br>Summary: PREQUEL TO MUGGLE STUDIES. Brittany S. Pierce is a spunky Muggle-born with an affinity for cats and useless trivia. Santana Lopez is a trash-talking Pureblood with a knack for getting into trouble. They become the unlikeliest of friends. A Harry Potter/Glee crossover. Eventual Brittana.  
>AN: Part 2.

* * *

><p>"Brittany?" Santana called. She rarely visited the Owlery, but she knew she was in the right place, yet there was no sign of the blonde haired Hufflepuff who begged to meet her here. Sure, Santana owned an owl; she just didn't see the point in visiting it. Owls served one purpose and that purpose was to deliver the mail. Nothing more. She hadn't even given hers a name. To be fair, her father hadn't named his either. Her mother's probably had a name at some point, but was usually only referred to as 'that poo-flinging nuisance.' Or maybe her mother was referring to Santana herself. Sometimes it was difficult to tell.<p>

"Santana!" Brittany said as she rounded the corner into the Owlery. "Thank Merlin you're still here. Sorry I'm late. Lord Tubbington snuck into the chicken coop again. He's upset with me because I told the house elves in the kitchen that he was no longer allowed in there for a midnight snack."

"Why exactly are we here?" Santana asked as she looked at the hundreds of owls perched along the walls. There were dried feces and the remains of whichever unfortunate animals happened to cross an owl's path scattered all over the floor. This was why she never came up here.

"I told you; I want to be your friend," Brittany said simply. "I figured you wouldn't want to be seen out in the open with me so this way we can say we were both visiting our owls."

"It's a good plan," Santana agreed.

"This is Hootie," Brittany said as her owl came down from the rafters to nip at her affectionately. "I named him after that band."

Santana wrinkled her nose. "I've never heard of them. Did they tour with The Weird Sisters or something? Because that's the kind of stuff my parents listen to."

Brittany laughed. "No… Hootie and the Blowfish is definitely full of Muggles."

"You probably think I'm stupid," Santana said quietly. "I don't know much about Muggles or their bands."

Brittany looked at her solemnly. "I'd never think that," she told her. "Sometimes I wish I knew what it was like to grow up in a wizarding family. I'm the only witch from my town so I get kind of lonely when I go home for the summer. All of my old classmates used to tease me and I haven't talked to any of them since."

"I knew a few other kids my age growing up," Santana admitted, "but none of them were really my friends." She paused, thinking about something Brittany said. "Wait, so you mean you went to school _before_ you came here too?"

Brittany smiled. "Yeah, from age five to eleven. My parents had no idea that witches were real, let alone that I was one."

"That sounds terrible."

"It was."

"We've been up here a while."

"We have."

"Brittany," Santana said, "do you think we could maybe meet up again?"

And so it became a regular thing – the girls would set a location and time for their next get together. Never too often and never too publicly, of course. But as their friendship grew, the rendezvous became more frequent. The Owlery, they decided, was not ideal. It was often hard to concentrate on the conversation when the owls were very liberal with their screeching. And pooping.

And their intense desire to see each other was what landed them in the biggest trouble either of them had ever been in.

Brittany reread the slip of parchment Santana had slipped her during Potions. _Sneak down to the dungeon at 1:30_ it said. She sighed. She knew Santana was still a little hesitant about letting people know they were friends, but the system they had now was ridiculous. They met at the covered bridge on Mondays. And the Quidditch pitch Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then the restricted section of library on Wednesdays. And finally, in the bathroom during the break between Transfiguration and Charms on Fridays. And the thing was they never met for long. Ten to fifteen minutes, tops. All of the sneaking around felt wrong; almost as if they were _more_ than friends.

It was March and they'd managed to keep this up for the majority of the school year. It hadn't been easy. There were some days that Santana didn't show up because she got paranoid that people were becoming suspicious. There were some days that Brittany's friends invited her to do something and made it impossible to say no. There were some days that one or both of them forgot.

But it was the weekend. And the weekend meant sleeping in Santana's bed, a feeling that never got old. Even if they always had to keep the curtains drawn and Brittany had to make sure to take an anti-snoring potion right before going to sleep.

Brittany glanced at the clock. It was ten after one and she was the only person still in the Hufflepuff common room. Mr. Kidney, the caretaker, was probably done patrolling for the night, preferring to drink vodka out of a teapot than looking for students out of bed. And Brittany was stealthy enough to avoid anyone else who roamed the halls – teachers, pets, ghosts. She slipped her messenger bag over one shoulder and petted Lord Tubbington who looked simply exhausted after a day of… sleeping.

"See ya, buddy," she told him. "Don't try and swallow a house elf while I'm gone, okay?"

The walk over to the Slytherin dormitory was thankfully obstacle-free. In fact, it was almost too perfect how effortlessly she was able to get there. She should've taken it as a sign – she waited and waited for Santana to come and get her in the designated spot just around the corner. But as she was about to leave, someone tugged at her sleeve.

It was Santana.

"Sorry it took so long," she apologized. "There's a group of seventh years having a cram session in the common room and they won't leave. So we're going to have to go with Plan B."

They'd never used Plan B before.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Brittany asked hesitantly. "We're not sure how well it'll work."

Santana glanced around to see if anyone else was in the hallway, which bothered Brittany perhaps more than it should. Of course there was no one around. It was one forty five in the morning. "I've got the instant darkness powder right here," Santana said, taking Brittany by the hand. "C'mon, it's foolproof."

It wasn't foolproof.

After all, they hadn't accounted for the fact that once they tossed the powder into the air, they'd still have to make their way across the entire common room. And they really, really hadn't accounted for the chair that Brittany tripped over and subsequently hurt her ankle on.

So once the powder settled, Brittany was rolling around the floor in agony, clutching her ankle while Santana looked mortified at being discovered. And before Santana could stop him, one of the remaining seventh years had already gone to find Ms. Sylvester.

"Never in all my years have I ever had one of my students sneak a _Hufflepuff_ into the noble House of Slytherin," Sue berated Santana after she saw Brittany, now lying on the couch. "What the _hell_ were you thinking?"

"Sorry," Santana mumbled.

Sue slammed her hand down onto a table. "Sorry you ever made such a tremendously stupid decision or sorry you got caught?"

"She's not stupid!" Brittany defended.

"Dumbledore's ass, she's not!" Sue roared back. "I just can't wait to tell your parents about this, Lopez. I'm sure they'll be very interested to know about your nightly activities."

"We're just friends," Santana insisted, glancing at Brittany. "It's not like… it's not like we…"

"Your parents are going to hate her either way," Sue smirked. "And I revel in triumph."

The next few days were a blur. The nurse was easily able to mend Brittany's badly sprained ankle, but truthfully she was more concerned about Santana than anything else. The girl was inconsolable; she expected her parents to show up at Hogwarts at any minute, threatening to send her to Durmstrang. Word of the incident had spread throughout the castle like wildfire and anytime Brittany tried to speak to Santana or get her alone, she was ignored. The rejection stung even worse than she had anticipated.

It all came to a head when Wednesday rolled around and everyone was sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast. Brittany was staring glumly at her eggs, pushing them around on her plate when the loudest, booming voice she'd ever heard echoed throughout the room.

"SANTANA LOPEZ, ARE YOU _TRYING_ TO DISGRACE OUR FAMILY NAME? DO YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY STEALING YOUR FATHER'S PERUVIAN INSTANT DARKNESS POWDER? AND HOW DARE YOU SNEAK THAT FILTHY MUDBLOOD IN AND OUT OF THE NOBLE DUNGEON OF SALAZAR SLYTHERIN! I'VE ASKED SUE TO INCREASE YOUR PUNISHMENT SO YOU'LL TRULY UNDERSTAND THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS. IF YOU THINK I'M BEING HARSH NOW, WAIT UNTIL YOU COME HOME FOR THE SUMMER. YOU'LL WISH YOU WERE IN AZKABAN BY THE TIME I'M THROUGH WITH YOU, SANTANA! I MEAN IT. I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER MENTION OF YOU ACTING OUT AGAIN. NOT IF YOU WANT AN INHERITANCE."

Brittany expected Santana to burst into tears, but that wasn't the case. Her Slytherin friend kept her head held high throughout the entire scathing message which seemed to go on for an eternity. The other Slytherins began to taunt her, but Santana refused to be affected by her mother's or her tormentors' words.

Then something unexpected happened. Santana stood up out of her seat and walked over the Hufflepuff table. She held her pinkie finger out to Brittany and said, "Hey Brittany. I've been thinking a lot the past few days and I'm really sorry for ignoring you; I just needed to clear my head. You're my best friend, y'know? And I don't care who knows anymore. So, uh, wanna go visit Hootie?"

Brittany smiled. "Only if we can come up for a name for your owl."


	3. Chapter 3

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus  
>By: Mykindofparty<br>Summary: PREQUEL TO MUGGLE STUDIES. Brittany S. Pierce is a spunky Muggle-born with an affinity for cats and useless trivia. Santana Lopez is a trash-talking Pureblood with a knack for getting into trouble. They become the unlikeliest of friends. A Harry Potter/Glee crossover. Eventual Brittana.  
>Spoilers: None.<br>A/N: Part 3. I apologize for the long wait between updates. Enjoy and as always thanks for still reading and all the feedback.

* * *

><p>Their fourth year was coming to a close before either of them knew it.<p>

Frankly, Brittany didn't want it to end. Summer meant going back to Lima, Ohio and wallowing in air conditioned misery. All of her old classmates would start high school next year. They'd go to parties and football games. They'd get their learners permits and eventually their licenses. They'd graduate at eighteen and go to college.

Summer was the loneliest time for her. She was often reminded of many things she'd never had.

Summer also meant no Santana.

Which was why Brittany insisted they spend almost every waking moment of their remaining time together – including bath time.

"Britt, this is ridiculous," Santana complained as she reluctantly allowed Brittany to wash her hair for her. "If people saw us in the tub together, they'd–"

"Whoops," Brittany interrupted, dunking Santana underwater, who reemerged a moment later.

"Brittany!" Santana shrieked. She waited, hoping for an apology, but instead she was met with silence. "Well," she demanded, "aren't you going to say you're sorry?"

"Your hair needed rinsing," Brittany said with a mischievous wink, splashing Santana in the face.

Santana sputtered for a second before lunging towards her. "You are _so_ dead!"

Sometime later, after the girls had finished horsing around, they laid on the floor of the Prefects' bathroom.

"How'd you get the password to this place anyway?" Brittany asked, still trying to catch her breath. The cool stone floor felt wonderful against her skin. She was too hot from the bath water– or something.

Her best friend simply laughed. "I am a Slytherin, you know. A dirty, rotten..."

"Stop," Brittany said. "There's nothing about you that's dirty."

Santana sat up. "What about rotten?"

"_Spoiled_ rotten, maybe," Brittany teased.

"I'm not looking forward to going home for the summer. I just know my mom's going to drive me crazy," Santana admitted quietly.

"I thought you said she usually spent her summers away from home."

"She _used_ to, but now she wants to keep a close eye on me."

"Because of me?" Brittany asked. "Because of that Howler she sent?"

Santana turned away from Brittany so that she was facing the gigantic bath tub. "Yes," she whispered and desperately wished it weren't so.

Two days later, Brittany found Santana in the library studying for final exams. She snuck up behind her and yelled, "Boo!"

Santana shot up out of her seat. "You're always catching me off-guard," she whined when she saw who it was. "Hi."

"Hey," Brittany smiled. "So I've been thinking…"

"Brittany, I don't care what you say, Gillyweed's not the same as Muggle weed."

"Not about that," Brittany said, although now that was _all_ she could think about. "The Hufflepuffs are having this thing tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to go."

"What kind of thing?" asked Santana.

"That's the thing… I don't know what it is. Everyone's welcome, but I thought you might want to go with me."

The idea of going anywhere with Brittany made Santana's head fuzzy. When they had parted ways after their bath, Santana started thinking about her friendship with Brittany. Sure, they had been wearing bathing suits, but there were several moments that seemed a little too intimate. At one point, Santana thought about actually _kissing_ Brittany.

"I'm not going to Wizard's Chess Club, Brittany. I just can't," she joked, hoping and praying for an excuse to get out of whatever _this_ was.

"Okay, was it really so bad the one time I dragged you there? You met Sam! He's cool for a Gryffindor," Brittany said. "This is something different though."

"You really don't know what it is?" Santana said.

Brittany shrugged.

Santana weighed her options. It was either poring over her textbooks in this dark, musty room all night or following Brittany to an unknown and potentially dangerous location. She sighed. "Okay."

Brittany squealed and placed a kiss on Santana's temple. "Meet me outside the Great Hall at eight."

Shell-shocked, all Santana could do was nod.

At seven fifty-five, Santana started pacing outside the Great Hall. Maybe Brittany would forget and she could slip down to the dungeons and spend her evening in the Slytherin dungeon stoking the fire. Then again, that sounded even less appealing than studying, so she waited.

Brittany showed up ten minutes later, looking beautiful as ever in Muggle clothes. Santana, who still had her Hogwarts uniform on - minus the tie - did a double take. And had she really just referred to Brittany as _beautiful_?

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Brittany said, snapping Santana out of her daze. "Did Lord Tubbington draw on my face again?"

"N-No," Santana stuttered. Damn. This wasn't like her at all. "R-R-eady to go?"

Brittany took Santana's hand and silently led her across the grounds. They held hands the entire time, Santana clutching onto Brittany for dear life, as if she expected something to jump out at them. She had her wand at the ready just in case.

"Put that down," Brittany chastised. Santana was always expecting the worst, but never bothered hoping for the best. It broke Brittany's heart.

By the time they reached the Quidditch pitch, Santana was on edge. "But the season's over," she stated.

Brittany rolled her eyes. "Tell me something I don't know. All you talked about for three weeks was how Slytherin was robbed of the Cup."

"Brittany?" someone called. They looked over to see Sam Evans, Brittany's friend from Wizard's Chess Club, waving to them. "Hey Santana," he added, "didn't know you were coming too. Still upset about the last Quidditch match?"

"Not at all," she lied. What did Sam know anyway? He wasn't even on Gryffindor's team _and_ the referee was a biased, curly-headed lion-lover, but Brittany had heard her conspiracy theories enough times already so she decided to let Sam's comment slide. "So… why are we here?"

"It's a memorial service," he replied. "For Cedric Diggory."

A chill ran down Santana's spine. There was no way she'd be welcome here.

"I have to go," Santana said, backing away slowly. She backed up so far that bumped into Coach Beiste without meaning to.

"Service is this way, Santana," Coach Beiste said, wrapping one of her arms around the panicking girl.

"If you had to pee, you should've gone before we left the castle," Brittany whispered to her once the coach let go.

Santana, trying not to let Brittany see how worried she was, replied, "Thanks. I'll remember that next time."

She let Brittany guide her onto the pitch where a small crowd of students and a few professors had gathered. She felt slightly better when she saw Puck was there. Good. So she wasn't the only Slytherin.

"Brittany," she said, "how'd you hear about this?"

"We had a meeting in our common room about it, but I was late so I guess I missed all that stuff about Cedric. I thought we were taking a study break or having a field day or something," Brittany said. Lord Tubbington was being stubborn that day and refused to let her pick him up. The problem was he had chosen to sit in a pile of hippogriff manure and Brittany was not about to use magic on her cat. It went against her code of ethics.

The ceremony went as planned. Santana kept her head low and her mouth shut and just when she thought she had made it through unscathed, someone she hated deeply spotted her.

"Hey Santana," Finn Hudson said, making his way towards her and Brittany. "Can't say I expected to see the daughter of two of the last remaining Death Eaters here."

Santana reached for her wand, but thought better of it. This was neither the time nor place to cause a scene. "I came with a friend," she said. She grabbed Brittany's hand and headed for the exit.

But he refused to let her pass. "Why come at all?" he asked. "Going to have a laugh about it with mom and dad when you go home for the summer?"

Much to Santana's surprise, Brittany drew her wand. "Let us pass, Finn." She had no intention of using it, but she was a much more proficient spell caster than him so she had no fear.

"Look, Brittany, I know you come from a Muggle family, but _her _parents got off without any punishment after the Battle of Hogwarts. They're the bad guys and from what I've seen, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Finn sneered.

"Santana's not like that," Brittany argued, gripping her wand tighter. It made her so angry hearing him say those things about her… best friend.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me when she turns on you–"

"_Silencio!"_

Finn stopped speaking. He couldn't.

But neither of the girls had cast that spell. They whipped their heads around to see Sam smiling like a huge dope behind them.

"Maybe Sam's not so bad after all," Santana said as she gave him a thumbs up.

"Does that mean you'll come back to Wizard's Chess Club?" Brittany asked. "We have one more meeting this year."

Santana laughed in spite of herself. "Don't push it."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Part 4. Sorry for the long wait. This chapter has both Brittany and Santana's summers. Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Summer without magic sucked.<p>

Scratch that.

Summer without magic _and_ Santana sucked.

It wasn't fair. Brittany finally had a best friend and now they were separated by thousands of miles. Well, probably. She wasn't exactly sure which estate Santana was staying at this year and the Lopezes owned so many it was hard to keep track.

It was for that reason Brittany hadn't written to Santana yet. She didn't know where to send Hootie.

To make matters worse, Lord Tubbington was feuding with Hootie. The two couldn't stand to be in the same room together. Her sister, Bonnie, volunteered to take the poor owl into her room, which was fine by Brittany – at least Lord Tubbington pooped outside.

"Still no word from Santana, huh?" Brittany's mother, Charlene, asked. She hated seeing her daughter so distressed. Brittany had trouble making friends in elementary school so her parents were quite relieved when she told them all about the fun times she had at Hogwarts.

"I gave her my address before we got off the train," Brittany said with a sigh. "I just thought I would've heard from her by now. We were practically inseparable."

Charlene raised an eyebrow. "I recall. That letter from your principal mentioned you sneaking into her dorm room."

"Headmaster," Brittany corrected. She looked out her bedroom window where she could see her neighbor, Kitty, practicing cheerleading in her backyard. "Do you think Santana lost it? I gave her our home number, too, but she's never used a telephone before so she asked if it was the combination to our family vault."

Charlene shrugged. There was still so much about the wizarding world that she didn't understand. "It's possible she lost it. Why don't you write one of your other classmates instead?"

"Good idea," Brittany said, nodding.

Charlene pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead. "Let me know if you need any stamps," she said making her way to the bedroom door.

Brittany rolled her eyes. "That's what Hootie's for, remember?"

"Oh yeah. The faster you get him out of my house, the better."

Brittany began her first letter.

_Dear Sam,_ she wrote. She paused. What else was she supposed to say?

_I wish we were playing Wizard's Chess right now instead of writing this letter. My dad's chess set doesn't move, but at least I don't have to repair the pieces every single time. Hope you're getting lucky in Kentucky._

_Knight to E6,_

_Britt_

Brittany looked at her clock. Wow. That killed five minutes.

"Be aggressive, be be aggressive!" Brittany heard Kitty's shrill voice cheer.

She decided to start a new letter.

_Dear Finn,_

_I hate you._

She didn't sign it.

Brittany looked out her window once more. She'd lived next door to Kitty her entire life, but they'd never really gotten along.

They were the same age, however. As kids, their parents had insisted they play together, but the thing about Kitty was that she wasn't all that nice... to anyone.

Brittany weighed her options. She could either spend her summer hanging out with her family or she could try to get into Kitty's good graces. Even though Kitty was what Santana would call a total bitch, at least she could introduce Brittany to a few other people… hopefully.

"Hey," Brittany said, practicing in front of her mirror. "Wanna be friends?" She shook her head. "Go with me to the mall or I'll hex you!" She giggled. "Like that'll work."

Brittany went out back behind her house and leaned against the fence separating her yard from Kitty's.

"Hey," she said.

So far so good.

Kitty glared at her. "Well, if it isn't the girl who talks to her cat."

"Sometimes he even talks back," Brittany joked.

"Don't you also have an owl?" Kitty asked suspiciously.

Kitty's family didn't like pets. They didn't even like plants judging by the dead cactus in the windowsill.

"Yeah, but all he says is _who_." Brittany frowned. "Maybe I should get a parrot instead."

"Oh Brittany," Kitty sighed. "Lima just isn't the same without your nuttiness. It's really a shame you go to boarding school in - where is it, exactly?"

"Canada," Brittany replied.

Kitty gave her a fake smile. "Makes sense."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you look like an Eskimo with that hat on. It's summer."

Brittany resisted the temptation to tell Kitty she was actually a Hufflepuff. "We don't use calendars at the Maple Leaf Academy," she said. "We just count the days by making hash marks on our igloos."

"You're depressing me," Kitty said. "What is it that you want exactly?"

"Just to hang out," Brittany said, trying to keep her cool. It was hard to do with her fur-lined hat, however.

"I'm listening," Kitty said impatiently, giving off the appearance that she really wasn't listening at all. "So?"

"So what?"

"What do you like to do?"

"I like m-" Brittany paused. "To read."

That was close. She almost said magic. Besides, magical books - even her textbooks - were the best kinds of books, which was why reading was definitely one of her main interests.

"So you wanna start a book club?" Kitty asked. "Real cool."

"I like movies too."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "Have you seen _The Passion of the Christ_?"

"No," Brittany replied.

"It's highly educational. I suggest you take notes," said Kitty. "Now c'mon. Make like a dog sled and mush."

With that, Kitty whipped her head around and headed inside her house.

"Some Muggles," Brittany muttered to herself, because they weren't all bad.

Some Muggles were great, like her family.

Others... not so much.

But Kitty was the worst one she knew.

* * *

><p>"Hold still, I'm trying to use your face as a dart board."<p>

Santana wasn't having the best summer vacation either.

First of all, house arrest was just cruel. She wasn't allowed to leave the property or else her parents would send her to Durmstrang, of all places.

It started with that freaking Howler her mother sent her in the Great Hall. Apparently the woman wasn't very pleased she'd been fraternizing with Brittany, whose parents were both Muggles.

"I said, _hold still,_" Santana repeated. Her house elf wouldn't quit trembling and Santana was not in the mood for moving targets.

Santana took aim again, gripping the dart between her fingertips as carefully as she would a quill.

"For Merlin's sake, Santana, don't you have anything better to do than terrorize that damn creature?" her mother scolded from the doorway, a goblet of top shelf firewhiskey in hand.

"I'm bored," Santana replied, well aware that she sounded like a brat. "And it's _not_ like I have anything better to do, as a matter of fact."

"All part of your punishment, darling," Elena said, setting her goblet down. "Elf, find a coaster for that."

The house elf vanished with a pop, relieved of his target practice duties. None of the elves at Lopez Manor had names. Sometimes Santana was surprised she even had one.

"You always spoil my fun," Santana said, taking a seat on an overstuffed armchair. She dipped her dart in her mother's goblet and stirred.

"You did this to yourself. Honestly, Santana, what were you thinking hanging out with that _Mudblood_?"

Santana shrugged. She had fun with Brittany and if she had known the consequences for hanging out together would be so severe, well, she still would've done it. There was something special about Brittany, something more magical than magic.

Words like 'Mudblood' were outdated anyway.

"She's my friend," Santana said.

Her mother had obviously started drinking earlier than usual this morning because her lips curled into a sinister smile that only appeared after a few firewhiskeys. "If she's your friend, why hasn't she written you?" Elena pressed. "And why haven't you written to her?"

"I... I lost her address," Santana mumbled.

"And does this girl live in a place called Lima, Ohio?"

Santana's eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

Her mother scoffed. "You really shouldn't leave bits of parchment in your robes where any of the house elves could find them and bring them to me."

"Where is it now?" Santana demanded.

"I wouldn't be a very good mother if I let my only daughter cavort with such a bad influence, now would I?" Elena taunted.

Santana's blood boiled. "That's not fair! I'm the one who stole the Instant Darkness Powder, not Brittany!"

"You're almost fifteen years old, Santana. I expect you know by now that life isn't fair. Your family gave their lives to the Dark Lord's cause and Mudbloods like your little friend are _still_ allowed to practice magic!"

"_Give me the address_," Santana seethed, gripping the armchair until her knuckles turned white.

Santana's mother laughed. "It's too late. I threw it in the fire."

* * *

><p>"This party is lame," Kitty said a few weeks later.<p>

According to Kitty, everything was lame so Brittany wasn't all that shocked by her... _friend's_ announcement.

"I dunno, I'm kinda having fun," Brittany replied. Going to the party had been Kitty's idea in the first place and Brittany was surprised to find that she was actually enjoying herself. She had even danced with a few people. It kept her mind off the fact that she hadn't heard from Santana all summer. "As soon as Matt's mom goes to bed, he's gonna pull out his-"

"Brittany!" Kitty shrieked.

"What? I was gonna say flask," said Brittany. Matt waved to her from across the room. She waved back.

Kitty watched the interaction with great interest. "Brittany, do you _like_ him?" she asked suspiciously.

Brittany thought about it. She hadn't really met very many witches or wizards who could dance like _that_. She supposed she did like him, in a friendly way. "Sure."

Kitty grinned. "Then leave the rest to me."

Twenty minutes later, after Matt's mom had gone upstairs for the evening, Kitty suggested Seven Minutes in Heaven.

"What's that?" Brittany asked. Everyone looked at her. "Uh, I mean... we have a different name for it in Canada. It's called... Seven Minutes in Ontario," she lied.

"Whatever. First up, Matt and Brittany," Kitty said.

Brittany followed Matt into his hall closet where he turned on the overhead light. "I didn't think Heaven would be this small," Brittany commented.

"You're funny," Matt replied, leaning in.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Kissing you," he murmured, his lips inches from hers.

Brittany pushed him away.

Matt sighed. "You haven't really played this in Canada, have you?"

She shook her head no. "I always pictured my first kiss with someone else," she said, frowning, but the confusing thing was that the only person she could picture kissing was Santana.

"So what should we do now?" Matt asked.

"We wait ten minutes and then we go back out there."

"The game's only seven minutes."

"Yeah, but this way people will think we got carried away," she said with a wink.

Matt grinned. "It'll work like a charm."

_If he only knew,_ Brittany thought. "Sure."

The first person Brittany saw when she and Matt walked out of the closet was Kitty. It was because she was standing right outside the door waiting for them.

"So Brittany, I don't suppose you lost anything in there, did you?" she asked.

"Nope, I still have my wan- wallet." Close call again. She almost said wand this time.

Kitty rolled her eyes, which apparently was customary for Muggle and Magical teens alike.

"That's not what I meant, but whatever. This party is still super lame." She reached for Brittany's hand. "Let's go."

Brittany pulled away from Kitty. "I think I'm gonna stay," she said. In all honesty, hanging out with Kitty was more boring than History of Magic and this party had more junk food than Honeyduke's.

Kitty eyed Matt suspiciously. "Fine, but I know where you live," she told him.

"We're at my house," he replied slowly.

Brittany snorted, which was apparently a huge mistake.

"You think this is funny?" Kitty snapped, turning on her.

"I just don't really understand why you take everything so seriously," Brittany said. "We're at a party. Loosen up. Have fun!"

_"I'll have fun when I'm not at this lame party anymore!"_ Kitty growled.

"Do whatever you want," Brittany shrugged. "I'm staying."

Kitty crossed her arms. "Fine, but just know that this will really jeopardize our friendship," she said angrily.

"You just boss me around. That's not friendship," Brittany replied, thinking about all of the things she and Santana did together at Hogwarts. "Friendship is about... doing fun stuff together and being there for each other."

"Oh please! I practically shoved you into that closet with Matt. You should be thanking me."

* * *

><p>"What would happen if I took my broom and just... flew away?" Santana wondered aloud one day. She was tired of being cooped up in the house all day; being around her mother constantly was <em>exhausting<em>.

The house elf lowered his head. "Elfie doesn't know. Elfie supposes the mistress would send Elfie after the young miss."

"Or I could take a handful of Floo Powder to the nearest fireplace to Lima, Ohio. Or a portkey," Santana added, ignoring him. "I'd drop out of Hogwarts and Brittany could teach me magic. She's the cleverest witch I know."

"Mistress would be very angry with Elfie for letting young miss run away."

Santana glared at him. "If my mother hears about this conversation, I'm going to find something even sharper than those darts to throw at your face."

The house elf cowered away from her. "Elfie doesn't like beatings!" he wailed. All of a sudden he stopped sobbing, picked up a candlestick, and began to hit himself with it. "Elfie shouldn't have said that! Now young miss will think Elfie is ungrateful. Elfie will punish himself since the mistress is asleep!"

Santana began to panic. This house elf was insane and was going to wake her mother up with all of his antics. "Stop it!" she commanded.

He froze. "Elfie apologizes, miss," he said, bowing his head. "Elfie is just afraid of what would happen to him if young miss escaped."

Crap. When Santana really thought about her options, she knew she had to stay. Sure, she could rock those Durmstrang furs, but she'd have to start over at a new school.

Durmstrang didn't have Brittany either.

"Fine," she relented. "And I promise not to use your face as a dart board anymore."

"Santana?" Elena called sleepily from the next room.

"Way to go, Elfie. You woke the beast," Santana scolded him. He trembled in fear, but she paid him no mind. "What is it, Mother?" she replied.

"Come here, Darling. I have something I want to discuss with you."

Santana grimaced, but decided it was better to play nice than to pick a fight.

"Late night?" Santana said, faking concern. It was after noon.

"As a matter of fact, your father and I _were_ up late last night," Elena told her.

"Gross," Santana said, the word tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"Stop being so childish," Elena said. "We discussed your punishment. It doesn't seem fair to keep you in the house all day, but the problem is we can't trust you."

"You _can_ trust me," Santana pleaded. "I'll do anything."

"Your father wanted you to intern at St. Mungo's."

Santana nodded. "Done."

"I disagreed. I think the only way I can truly trust you is if you're under my spell."

"What?" Santana gasped.

"The Imperius Curse," Elena explained. She saw the horrified look on her daughter's face.

"You'd use an Unforgiveable Curse on your own flesh and blood?"

"Darling, it's not like I'll be using you to do my bidding. It'll just be my little way of making sure you don't mess up again."

"How long?"

"The rest of the summer as needed. You'll be able to leave the house as long as you clear it with me first. That's the price you pay for freedom, Santana, now that you've aligned yourself with a Mudblood."

A lump began to form in Santana's throat. She felt like a hippogriff backed into a corner with nowhere to go.

The Imperius Curse would take away her free will.

There was only one solution.

She'd learn to fight it.


End file.
